


Conversation

by academy_x



Category: Black Sails
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, POV Mrs. Hudson, Season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 04:22:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6408586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/academy_x/pseuds/academy_x
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max pays a visit to Mrs. Hudson. She brings a gift and an agenda. They talk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Conversation

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [shirogiku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shirogiku/pseuds/shirogiku) in the [pirate_prompts_2016](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/pirate_prompts_2016) collection. 



> Inspired/based on this prompt from the Black Sails meme:
> 
> "What are you reading?", Max learns Mrs Hudson spies for the Spanish. Bonus points for some headcanon on Max vs books/reading.

Mrs. Hudson knew someone was coming without turning to look. She had been a maid for years and had grown accustomed to the tapping of a lady's shoe, the rustling of a lady's skirts. But the woman who stepped into the room was no lady. Her name was Max, a fact Mrs. Hudson knew without having been introduced to her, and she was something else entirely. Back in London every person had their place, and she had always been acutely aware of her own position. Yet here was a woman who dared to defy categorization.

She held more power than many of the aristocratic ladies Mrs. Hudson had served under, but she did not carry this authority in her body. Yes, her back was straight and her dress impeccable, but her face was open, and she looked at the world, not to the sky. Max did not seem kind, to her eyes, but it was hard to tell. In a place like this, there was little room for kindness. When Mrs. Hudson closed her book and invited her to sit, Max smiled brightly, revealing good, clean teeth.

Max sat down without the chair squeaking a single time. Her dress fell around her effortlessly in a way that spoke of many years practice. It did not fold or crease. Her left hand clutched a small book. Its reddish-brown leather cover matched her dress in which folds it had been well concealed. Max placed the book on the table between them. She slid it towards Mrs. Hudson.

"A gift." Max explained. "I had hoped it might find appreciation in your hands."

"Thank you." Mrs. Hudson said.

She smiled on instinct. It did not reach her eyes. Gifts seldom came without strings attached, in her experience. Mrs. Hudson reached stiffly for the book. She leafed through its thin yellowy pages and stopped at a random one. She read over it quickly. The letters muddled together and all looked alike. She could not remember a word of it after finishing. Her mind was elsewhere.

"You are not pleased?" Max asked.

"I am merely wondering what you expect in return." Mrs. Hudson replied.

Max smiled, a little wistful. Like she was sad they could not have a simple conversation without undertones. Like she longed for a different world. She picked at a non-existent speck of dust on the sleeve of her dress.

"I wish to be a friend to all of Nassau. That includes you now." Max said. Sensing it would not be enough, she continued. "If you would prefer to give me something in return, I will take an honest answer to a question that has plagued me."

Mrs. Hudson nodded at her to ask. This must be why Max was really there. She wondered what information such a woman would be interested in. Perhaps Max simply wished to know if there were any truth to the rumors about Miss Guthrie and the Governor like everyone else. It was a likely answer, but easy, too banal. Mrs. Hudson did not believe it even as she thought it.

"Who is spying on us for the Spanish?" Max asked in an even voice, betraying none of the attachement she had tied up in the question.

Mrs. Hudson tensed. With effort, she folded her fingers out from the fists they had clenched into autonomously. A drop of sweat ran down her forehead. She prayed that Max would blame it on the heat, but deep down she knew the other woman was too smart for that. She said nothing, but Max read the answer in her body as clearly as had she shouted it. She seemed displeased, but not surprised, at the reveal. Max pursed her lips. The silence was overwhelming.

"Please understand, I had no choice." Mrs. Hudson said. It sounded hollow in her ears.

Max shook her head, smiled a little. She held up a hand to cut Mrs. Hudson's speech short. Looking into her eyes, Mrs. Hudson could see that Max knew, like she did.  There was always a choice, no matter how horrible. An incredible sadness hung between them. Mrs. Hudson's eyes threatened to overflow, and she broke the contact, looked at the faded wallpaper behind them instead. Max crossed then uncrossed her arms. She rose.

"I have sacrificed much to get where I am. Left people behind. And now I must actively go against them. Against friends. Against a person who is dear to me. I had thought it would be good to have my suspicions confirmed, to have a face that I can pin on the vague threat Spain represents, but it is a cold comfort. I suppose I should resent you, but I do not care to. I do not have it in me. So keep the book. Keep the offer of friendship too, if you wish. Good-bye." Max said.

"Good-bye, ma'am. It was ..." Mrs. Hudson said, then paused at loss for words. "... an interesting conversation."

Max smiled at her one last time before turning around and leaving the way she came. Mrs. Hudson sat quietly. The visit had pushed something loose inside her. She opened the book Max gave her. The title page had two names written on it in the corner. The first, Karen in loopy cursive, had been hastily crossed out, and underneath in heavy letters it said, to my dearest Charlotte. She looked over the first page, and then the second. It was a love story and felt familiar, though she had never read it. Mrs. Hudson closed Max's book and picked up the other one. She always finished what she started.


End file.
